Work Text:
That last battle was a close one. Things could’ve gone very bad for Bernie back there. If she hadn’t been so careless, this wouldn’t have been a problem. But she was fine, and it was thanks to one man.
She honestly couldn’t believe what happened. Bandits broke through the mainline and things were thrown into chaos, but she couldn’t think of another explanation for this. Even if by all accounts it made no sense.
The very thought of going to see him on normal terms was unimaginable, but she knew that she had to do this. She needed to know if he was okay. The why could come in later, but for now she had to make sure he was recovering well, and if there was anything she could do.
Knowing she had to do this was already stressful as it was, but standing in front of it was something else entirely. Hubert was a terrifying man, and she was certain that he’d take it as a compliment if you told him. To actually go into his room was something she couldn’t imagine doing. It had to look like a crypt in there, and his bed a coffin. What if he killed her because she found out his secret? What if saving her meant preserving her to fall by his hands in the comfort of his own room?
Maybe she could write a letter to him instead. A nice letter that kept him at arm’s length and kept her alive. Yeah. That was a better idea than to waltz right into his clutches!
But she couldn’t do that. Hubert might’ve been really scary. Really really scary. But he still saved her life. And he was close with Edelgard, and there was no way she would keep someone by her side that was genuinely evil. He had to be secretly a good guy under there. Just a quick thank you and she’d be on her way.
She knocked quickly. She did it and now she couldn’t take it back. She had to go see him and there was no avoiding it. Maybe if she didn’t bring up his vampire decore he would let her live. He did save her life once, right?
“Enter.” She heard his voice from within. Taking a deep breath in, she opened the door.
To her surprise, his room was rather unremarkable. It was like every other Black Eagles room. There was a desk, a bed, and a red rug over the hardwood floor. It wasn’t at all like the catacombs she thought his room was going to look like. It was silly that she thought it was going to look like this. He was a student just like her after all.
“Ah, Lady Bernadetta. What an unexpected surprise. I trust you’re doing well.” A ghastly looking Hubert spoke, somehow managing to sound like he had poisoned her tea or something and was hoping for any sort of effect.
“I-I’m fine. I came to check up on you. You were the one that got hurt because of me in the last fight.” He definitely was alive, but he didn’t look to be in great condition. Even if he was scary, she couldn’t help but feel guilty about it. That was her doing after all.
“I’m fine. Though you’d do well to pay better attention in the future. Lady Edelgard would be upset should anything happen to you.”
“But wouldn’t she also be upset if anything were to happen to you? I mean you’ve been with her for a really long time, right? I love Edelgard. A lot. But that doesn’t make you any less important to her. I’m sure she’s very worried about you.” And she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to look Edelgard in the eyes anymore if something ended up happening to Hubert because of her. She couldn’t bear to be the one responsible for her losing a childhood friend.
“My life is inconsequential. If it is to serve Lady Edelgard and ensure her happiness, then it must be done. I admit, my actions were perhaps a tad reckless. But the fact remains that I did what had to be done.” He spoke so casually about the matter, as if he wasn’t bedridden from his injuries. He really didn’t care about himself.
“But it’s not! You’ve been with her for a really long time. She’d be devastated if anything were to happen to you.” And maybe she would too. He was really scary, like scarier than almost anyone they’ve had to face, but he really was a nice guy. In his own creepy kinda way.
“Lady Edelgard has lofty goals and ambitions. We have both come to terms with the fact that somewhere along this path I might fall. I would gladly accept my fate if it means Lady Edelgard’s vision is left unharmed.”
“B-But-” -she knew he wasn’t going to give up on this. Hubert didn’t seem to be budging at all on this, and Bernadetta wasn’t really a great debater. “Alright.” She had no other choice in all this. He had left her with no other choice in all this, so she was going to have to do something big and unpleasant.
“I’m glad we’re in agreement.”
“No! I don’t agree. Edelgard has a lot of people who will protect her, but you’re different. You’re important to her. So if you’re going to protect me, then I guess I’m going to have to work hard to protect you! That way we can both protect Edelgard and each other!”
“You do understand that means attending your training drills, correct.” He just had to rub it in. She was trying not to think about that right now and hope that she’d be more okay with it later when she had more of a chance to hype herself up over it.
“Y-Yes! I do.”Then he had the nerve to laugh at her. She wasn’t sure if she had ever heard him laugh before. She kinda hoped she never did again. It’s really creepy.
“My apologies, I didn’t mean to laugh.”
“Well it certainly feels like it.” She was pushing past a lot of stressful things for him. He should at least appreciate that she was also doing this for Edelgard.
“No, it’s that perhaps I’ve misjudged you. You’ve got a lot more fire in you than I gave you credit for. It caught me off guard.” That also hurt her feelings. She could be strong sometimes. “A fool with a heart that’s perhaps too big. I certainly had no plans on dying so early on, but perhaps for your sake I should try and press on. The world will do cruel things to soft people like you. And Lady Edelgard would be quite upset should anything happen to you.”
It somehow felt like he listened, but he didn’t. At least maybe now he wasn’t going to throw himself into danger for her sake. She still wasn’t going to go back on what she said. Maybe some part of her wanted to prove him wrong, and another part wanted to genuinely protect someone that both she and Edelgard cared about.
“To care about someone like me. You truly are something, Lady Bernadetta.”
“Well if you don’t want to die so soon then you should act like it!” She huffed. She was trying so hard, the least he could do was put in work on his end. Everything she offered to do so far was really hard.
Any further scolding she had on her tongue died as she realized what she was doing. Everything she had said so far was really rude! Hubert might’ve been really scary, but he did something nice for her. It might’ve been stupid, but it was still really nice. And here she was acting like an ungrateful brat. He was definitely going to tell Edelgard about how she was acting and this was definitely something that would make Edelgard realize that she wasn’t as great as she thought she was. She’d break up with her for sure!
“I’m sorry. I’m being really rude. Thank you so much for saving me back there. Sorry all I did was complain about it.” Because he was in this mess because of her. She shouldn’t brush off what he did so easily. “But I’m serious when I said I’ll work harder. You’ll never have to worry about me ever again!”
“The only way for me to stop worrying about you is if you die.”
“D-Die?!” Did she really upset him? That makes sense with how rude she’s been. She’s been awful from the moment she entered his room. He must’ve regretted saving someone as ungrateful as her! And it was such a nice thing he did for her!
“I’m sorry!!” She yelled as she ran from his room. There had to be some way to make this right. For the sake of keeping the peace for Edelgard, she would find a way to fix all this.
She’d do everything short of die.